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beekeeper_42 · ‎01-27-2018

The family of Schreiner Jewelry are still alive and kicking. Mom, Terry, is 89, and can't believe how my parents, and grandfathers creations have become so collectable. My dad's , Ambros, famous ruffle pin retailed for $7.50 in the mid 1950ss. It now often sells for over $750.00. She is also very unhappy of crooked dealers claiming they have unsigned Schreiner, when it's not even close to anything we produced. I have written a dealer in Cal. several times to remove things that are clearly not Schreiner. She accused me of being another dealer trying to make her look bad... really! Buyers beware of anything unsigned unless you have experience identifing Schreiner pieces, and don't believe them if they claimed it's verrified. Sometimes I will post on a piece if it is clearly a Schreiner piece, and allow the seller to use my post. Many books have poor information about my family's business. One dealer claimed Sphinx is a hallmark of Schreiner, and listed some book from the 70ss, that stated it. Schreiner Jewelry was only made in NYC, not in Europe, or any place else. We did design for many of the best ready-to-wear, designers of the 30ss- 70ss, that was sold to them unsigned, but only made by us in NYC. These pieces were sold with the garment. Hope this helps new collectors, and best of luck to you!

SOME POSTS IN THIS THREAD HAVE BEEN EDITED. ALL EDITES WILL BE IN CAPS AND IN RED. - SANDY, BOARD MODERATOR.

earthwrx · ‎04-05-2024

I've been lurking and learning from this wonderful thread for a while now. It's a treasure trove of history and interesting information. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and memories.

I've been stumped by this brooch and am now wondering if there's any chance it could be an unsigned Schreiner piece? It has wire loops holding the 3 tiers together, gun metal coloring, and no stops on the pin stem.

Thanks in advance for any info!

beekeeper_42 · ‎04-06-2024

Welcome aboard! Your brooch could be one of ours, since we used all of the components in your brooch. The pin hinge with the enclosed pivot holes, was an early style were used, as was the catch. The wire enclosed petal design was popular for a while, with us, and France, and Austria jewelry houses. Looks like AB stones, so it would have to be from the late 60s onward. Without holding it in my hand I can't say 100% if it's ours or not. I will say these are A LOT OF WORK to make!!! The outline wire needs to be cut at the proper length, heated to red hot, bent to shape in a mold, have the settings soldered inside, before the petal was soldered into place on the ring, without the inside solder melting and the petal falling apart. Setting the tiny stones was a real chore for our stone setters!! A man called "Little Joe" made most of these we made, since he was very good with any wire work. Sadly, he contacted my mom when I was still young. He was looking for information on who we bought the asbestosis blocks from. He had caught an asbestosis related cancer, and his family was looking to sue the manufacturer, and he must have passed shortly after, since that was the last we heard from him.

earthwrx · ‎04-06-2024

Hi,

I can only imagine the skill and patience required to make a piece like this. If it was one of Little Joe's he was quite a craftsman. The piece was clearly well made and is still holding up beautifully after all these years.

Thank you so much for the information!

davintiques · ‎04-08-2024

Hello! Brand new to these posts as you just invited me today after seeing the Schreiner belt I listed. I've already learned so much! If you would please, take a look at this brooch and tell me if it is one of your family's creations. Thank you so much!

beekeeper_42 · ‎04-08-2024

Yes one of ours. As you may have read already the drop was made by a man named Cleao. Mom came up with the idea for the 4, small, clear navetts, soldered in a circle that cover the wire going into the top of the drop to Jazz it up a little. She used to call them rhondells. Since we never laid anyone off, this gave the solderers, and stone setters something to do if it was slow.

davintiques · ‎04-09-2024

Exciting! Thank you so much! I had a hunch when I found this piece at an antique mall in Mississippi. The price was very good as it is unsigned. Thank you for all you do for the Schreiner community!

davintiques · ‎04-11-2024

Good Morning! I've had this delicate brooch for years. Is it a Schreiner piece? I have not seen anything else quite like it in the books. Thank you.

beekeeper_42 · ‎04-11-2024

It could be one of ours, but without holding it in my hand I can't give you a 100%. My dad designed alot of wire pieces, but so did several European jewelers around the same time. Like I said earlier "Little Joe" was our master at anything made with wires. When these came out of the tumbling barrel, they looked like a piece of crumpled paper that had to be straightened out before plating, and there was alot of breakage. They required very much handwork, that when salaries went up we produced fewer, and fewer, and completely stopped by the mid 60s since they became too expensive to produce

abethkap · ‎04-17-2024

Hi, I have a Maltese cross brooch with very unusual molded green glass stones-- it is on the strength (I hope) of this that I am posting. They are identical except in color to the stones of a pink flower brooch that the seller said was unsigned but verified Schreiner (the seller said theirs was identical to a signed Schreiner brooch on The Jewelry Ring's Schreiner page- I was not able to locate this page or find a photo of the back of the unsigned brooch.) I thought this would fit in with the company's purchase of unusual stones in limited quantities. There is a lot of soldering on the back (so it isn't cast), and I don't think the catch has a stop (shown in photos). I hope I have this right, and if not, it will be a learning experience. This thread is very appreciated. Thank you!

beekeeper_42 · ‎04-18-2024

OK! The Pink, and green brooches look nothing alike so you can't compare the two. Now I'm going to ask you to look at your green brooch... after reading my posts; do the green triangle stone look like they are being held by handmade setting??? That should tell you everything you need to know.

abethkap · ‎04-18-2024

The pink and green brooches have very different designs, but the triangular stones are very much alike (in shape and the molded design), but not in color. I thought that might indicate they were from the same source since they are so unusual. To me, everything looks soldered together (except for the two looped wires on back)- wouldn't that have to have been done by hand? Or are you referring just to the prongs? I'm not sure how to judge if these were hand made. Sorry, I definitely have the feeling I am missing something important.

beekeeper_42 · ‎04-19-2024

Factory settings tend to be cup shaped in the shape of the stone, with prongs, or bezel to hold the stone in the cup. Some settings are open backed, or solid. The green stones are held in place with my dad's homemade setting. In your case wire with the fancy prongs solder to it. The Montana blue stones help give it support since his handmade settings are not as strong as factory settings pressed out of sheet brass.

abethkap · ‎04-20-2024

I am over the moon at the moment! I do have a couple of questions. Are these fancy prongs unique to Schreiner? And I was curious about the age of the brooch. The molded green triangular stones look Art Deco era to me, worked into a brooch made at a later date. Thank you so much!

bcrystal282012 · ‎04-20-2024

hello, you have helped me ID some Schreiner pieces in the past. I’m not very tech savvy so I hope I am not posting this on the wrong thread but any idea If this was one your families pieces? Thank you in advance for the help.